A Mother's Secret by Amy Clipston

mess.”
    “Don’t be gegisch . I’ll clean it for you tomorrow.” Mamm motioned for him to enter the house. “ Kumm . Stay for a bit.”
    Joshua sighed and held the door as the four women filed into the mudroom. He hung his coat and hat on a peg and then followed them into the kitchen, where platters of food cluttered the long table. The aroma of peanut butter spread, fresh-baked bread, pickles, and macaroni and cheese penetrated his nostrils, and his stomach growled in response. Although Joshua wanted to flee the uncomfortable scene, he was hungry, and he desperately wanted to make himself a sandwich. He’d been so busy working that he never had lunch. Daniel and Benjamin had stopped working around noon to eat. Joshua,however, had continued training a horse, and he eventually lost track of time.
    His mother made a sweeping gesture toward the table. “Please help yourselves. My husband told me he will return home late today.”
    Lena sat at the table. “ Danki .” She bowed her head to pray.
    Mamm pointed at the seat across from her and motioned for Joshua to sit.
    He dutifully complied and then lowered his head to give a silent blessing. When he looked up again, Mamm was standing by the doorway leading to the family room with Anna Mary and Lily. Anna Mary placed the two boxes of cookies on the counter near the sink.
    “Anna Mary,” Lily began with her voice a little too loud. “Let me show you the quilt I’m working on before we eat. It’s going to be a gift for Naomi’s birthday.”
    The three women disappeared into the family room, and Joshua was left alone with Lena. This was most definitely a plan, and I was naïve enough to fall right into their trap , he thought.
    Lena filled her plate with pretzels, macaroni and cheese, and bread.
    Joshua cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say while loading his own plate. “It all smells appeditlich , ya ?”
    Lena nodded. “ Ya , it does. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I smelled the food.”
    “I thought the exact same thing. I skipped lunch.” Joshua smeared peanut butter spread over a thick piece of bread. “So, you work at the bakery?”
    “I do.” Lena’s brown eyes met his. “I really enjoy working there.”
    “What are your favorite desserts?” he asked.
    Between bites of macaroni and cheese, Lena listed her favorite things to bake. She finished describing her favorite recipe for chocolate cake, and then the room fell silent. The only noise was the drone of low voices coming from a nearby room.
    Joshua finished his peanut butter sandwich while struggling to think of something to say. “I run a horse farm,” he finally said.
    “Oh.” Lena nodded. “That must be very hard work.”
    “It is,” Joshua said while spooning more macaroni and cheese.
    “Do you have a lot of horses on your farm?” Lena asked.
    “ Ya , I do.” He shared information about his farm while she nodded and listened intently, her eyes fixed on him.
    He was still talking about his horses when Mamm , Lily, and Anna Mary returned to the kitchen, all smiling like expectant children on Christmas morning. He was certain their excitement was directly related to his interaction with Lena.
    Mamm sat across from Joshua and aimed her smile at him. “I see you two are getting along well.”
    Joshua frowned at his mother, but the gesture didn’t dampen her mood. Although Lena seemed like a fine young woman, he didn’t appreciate being set up with her.
    Anna Mary and Lily joined them at the table, and after a silent prayer, all three women began to fill their plates with food and talk nonstop about everything from housework to news about people in the community.
    Joshua was thankful when his father joined them in the kitchen and he had someone to talk to who didn’t want to discuss baking or talk about the people in their church district. He made small talk with his father about the farm until their plates wereclean. After another silent prayer, the